College Sports Blog

Texas Tech head football coach Tommy Tuberville knew the media was going to follow up on Saturday’s discussion regarding the head coach knocking off graduate assistant Kevin Oliver’s headset and hat during Saturday’s 41-34 double overtime win against Kansas.

So he took it head on in his opening address at Texas Tech’s Monday media luncheon.

“Obviously, before we get started on Kansas and Oklahoma State, let’s have a little discussion here about last weekend,” Tuberville started. “After watching the film when I got home, it was obvious what a lot of people were upset about. It upset me too. You don’t do things like that, and it was obvious I reached up, grabbed his headset and pulled on it. Heat of the battle, some things happen, and sometimes you’d like to take back. I can’t remember anything like that happening to me. But that was a tough game. We’re fighting hard. I’ve apologized to Kevin. We talked. Of course, we talked 30 seconds after that for the rest of the game, because I talk to him more on the headset than I do anybody else because he helps me chart special teams.

“But it’s unfortunate that that happened. I’ve got kids of my own. I’ve got a hundred kids on the sidelines and coaches, and I’ve got to hold myself to a higher regard than that, and I usually do.”

Tuberville did express some displeasure with what he said was the media’s portrayal of him slapping Oliver.

“But I will say this: Some have reported that I slapped or hit,” Tuberville immediately continued in his opening statement. “You’re dead wrong. I did not do that. I’m a little bit disappointed that most of you in here know me. I think you know me a lot better than that. I can understand somebody in L.A. or California doing it and making some kind of statement like that by watching the film, but I never thought about it in 35 years. Never dreamed of hitting anybody and never have. So we’ll just leave it at that. That’s also disappointing to me that that would be written here in this town, but we’ll get on with it.”

Tuberville has no record of player or staff mistreatment in a very long coaching career.

According to Tuberville, there was no need for Texas Tech’s administration to get involved after the incident and it did not get involved.

“Well, of course, that’s between me and (Oliver),” Tuberville said. “Of course we talked on the headphones during the game. No, there really didn’t need to be a lot of discussion.”

Tuberville declined to answer whether or not he was retracting the story he told Saturday where he was reaching for Oliver’s shoulder to pull Oliver off the field and accidentally got Oliver’s headset.